Roller speed indicating means for paper coating machines



May 8, 1956 R. ENZMANN ETAL 2,744,492

ROLLER SPEED INDICATING MEANS FOR PAPER COATING MACHINES Filed Feb. 8,1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WILLIAM H. BARRETT RALPH ENZMANN y 8,1956 R. ENZMANN EIAL ROLLER SPEED INDICATING MEANS FOR PAPER COATINGMACHINES Filed Feb. 8, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WILLIAM H.BARRETT RALPH ENZMANN JISM- United States Patent ROLLER SPEED INDICATINGMEANS FOR PAPER CGATING MACHINES Ralph Enzmanu and William H. Barrett,International Falls, Minn., assignor to Minnesota and Dntario PaperCompany, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application February 8, 1954, Serial No. 408,765

Claims. (Cl. 118-10) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in apparatus and process for applying films to paper andmore particularly to applying coating to a continuous moving web ofpaper.

This invention particularly concerns a coating apparatus in which thecharacter of the film can be predetermined and known during theapplication thereof.

The base stock to which the coating is to be applied may be of anysuitable kind, and the ingredients contained in the coating appliedthereto may be chosen from a number of different materials. 1 Thecoating mixture may include clay, calcium carbonate, satin white,titanium dioxide, etc., and the adhesive or hinder, such as starch,protein, glue or other suitable material all contained in an activedispersion.

It is an object of this invention to apply a coating upon a fasttraveling web of paper and the term paper as used herein is intended toinclude any and all material in web form Whereon a film may be appliedand no distinction is intended by various grades such as, for example,printing, photography or other papers or paper board.

Other and further objects of the invention and the advantages of thesame will be pointed out hereinafter and indicated in the appendedclaims or will be obvious to one skilled in the art upon understandingthe present disclosure.

For the purpose of this application there has been elected to set forthone particular structure and one particular method of producing the sameand it is to be understood that they are here presented for illustrativepurposes only and are not to be accorded any interpretation such asmight have the effect of limiting what is claimed as the invention shortof its true and comprehensive scope in the art.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a view of a schematic arrangement of a coating apparatus;

Figure 2 is a schematic arrangement of a synchroscope or indicator;

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the indicating device shown inFigure 4; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the indicating device.

it is to be understood that the invention may be used with various typesof coating apparatus and is particularly adapted to be used with a typeof coating or apparatus shown in Patent No. 2,513,394 dated July 4,1950.

Referring to the drawings in detail, indicates a reel of paper and 12the web being unwound therefrom. The web passes over guide roll 14 andthen over a backing roll 22. The web 12 is held in close contact withthe backing roll by pinch roll 16. While the paper is supported by thebacking roll the coating is applied by applicator roll 24. The paperafter receiving the film passes to suitable drier (not shown). Thebacking roll 22, paper reel 10 and the drier section (not shown) may bedriven by variable speed D. C. motors (not shown) and may be controlledfrom a panel adjacent the coating ap- 'ice paratus. The coating section,including the applicator roll 24, may be driven by a D. C. motor andvariable speeds are achieved by hydraulic adjustment of a Reevesvariable speed transmission (not shown). Normally, an indicatingelectrical tachometer is attached to the coating section and shows thesurface speed of the coating applicator roll 24. Another indicatortachometer is usually attached to the drier section and shows the speedof the paper passing through the machine. When a paper is to be coated,the operator adjusts the variable speed transmission, such as a Reeves,on the applicator roll to the predetermined speed. The web of paper isthen brought up to the desired speed and when the paper reaches thespeed desired, for example the speed of the surface velocity of theapplicator roll, the applicator roll is brought into contact with themoving web of paper.

Due to variables, such as mechanical and human, the method justdescribed seldom achieves synchronism between the velocity of the weband the peripheral velocity of the paper coating roll. By controllingthe speed of the applicator roll in reference to speed of the paper,different results can be obtained in the film applied. The paper web maybe driven faster than the applicator roll, the applicator roll may bedriven faster than the web of paper or the applicator roll and the webof paper are driven in synchronism. Each of these conditions providesdifferent types of film upon the moving web of paper. Normally, it isimpossible to tell which one of these conditions exists and the use ofthe present invention provides means for indicating what conditionactually exists during the application of the film.

In Figure 2 of the drawings is shown one means of indicating therelationship of the speed of the paper and the applicator roll. Thisarrangement includes container or sump 30, pumps 13 and 26, andreversible motor 42 carrying indicator 44. The sump 3t) is suitablyconnected to the pumps 18 and 26 by conduits 32 and 34. These conduits32 and 34 are of suitably equal length and equal resistance to the flowof fluid therethrough. The pumps 18 and 26 communicate with each otherthrough conduits 36 and 38 and these conduits are of equal length andequal resistance to the flow of fluid. The sump is connected to areversible fluid motor and the motor is turned in connection to theconduits 36 and 38 by conduits 46 and 40 respectively.

The reversible fluid motor 42 is shown in detail in Figures 3 and 4. Theshaft 4-6 and the rotor 68 are preferably made in one piece but it is tobe understood that they may be made separately and suitably connectedtogether. The rotor 68 is provided with a groove 70 extendingtherearound and also provided with spaced openings 72. In these openings72 are slideably mounted blades 74 and 75. The blades 75 are forcedoutwardly by a pair of springs 78 while blades 74 are forced outwardlyby a pair of springs 76. The blades 74 and 75 have openings in one endthereof as shown in Figure 4 at 80 into which the springs are seated.The conduits 40 and 46 are connected to the fluid motor at 84 and 86.The stator of the motor 42 is provided with channels 82. These channelsare located adjacent the inlet and outlet of the motor and extend beyondeach side of such inlet and outlet. The rotor 68 is cylindrical and ismounted in the stator of housing 60 as shown in Figure 3. The fluidmotor 42 includes housing 60 through which shaft 46 extends. On theoutward end of shaft 46 is mounted the indicator member 44 which is heldin place by members 48 and 50. The shaft is supported in the housing bysuitable bearings 56 and one end of the housing is closed by packing 54.The housing for the rotor 68 is connected to the member 52 and hassuitably threaded screw members 62. The other end of the housing is 3closed by plate member '64 and held in place by suitable members 66.

In operation if the backing roll and the applicator roll are travelingat the identical surface speed the pumps 18 and 26 are rotated atidentical speeds and all the fluid, such as oil from the pumps '18, willpass through pump 26 and back to the sump. If the pump 18 is travelingfaster than pump 26 the excess of oil from pump 18 will pass through thereversible motor 42 causing the indicator 44 to turn clockwise. If pump'26 is rotated faster than pump 18 the excess oil will be drawn throughthe fluid motor causing the rotor to turn counter-clockwise.

It is preferred that the pumps 18 and 26 be positive displacement pumpsand they may be connected to the applicator roll and the backing roll.With suitable gear trains from the applicator roll and the backing roll,the pumps. 1-8 and 26 will be driven at synchronous speeds if theperipheral velocity of the applicator roll and the backing roll areidentical. The proper gear ratio may be determined as follows:

The ratio from the backing roll to pump 18 would be the gear diameter-ofthe backing roll divided by the diameter of the applicator roll. Theratio from the applicator roll to pump 26 would be constant. A largeconstant gives higher pump speed and hence greater sensitivity to theindicator 44. The above formula applied to a coater, if it is operatedat 800 feet per minute, gives the following results Where the diameterof the backing roll is 2.08 feet and the applicator roll is 1 foot:

800 I 2 R. P. M. packing roll 208x314 12 .0

800 R. P. M. applicator roll-- -255 If we let the constant equal 3, thepumps 18 and 26 will operate at about the speed desired for goodsensitivity at 800 feet per minute coating speed. The speed of the pump18 will be and the speed of the pump 26 is equal to 255 3=765. The gearratio between the backing roll and the pump 18 should be and the ratiofrom the applicator roll to the pump 26 should be equal to 3 to 1. Byway of example the 3 to 1 speed ratio to pump 26 can be achieved by useof a '15 tooth and a 45 tooth sprocket.

If the pumps '18 and 26 are connected to rolls of the same size, bothpumps should be driven by identical sprocket drives or the like.

What 'is claimed:

1. The combination of a paper coating apparatus including a filmapplying roll and a paper supporting roll, of means for indicating thespeed relationship of the film applying roll and the paper supportingroll, said means comprising fluid pumps driven by the film applying rolland the paper supporting roll, a liquid container, conduits connectingthe container and the pumps in series so that fluid from the containercan flow through the'pumps and back to the container, a conduitconnecting the liquid container to the conduit connecting the pumps, afluid X3 to 1 63.24 to 1 motor mounted in the conduit connecting thecontainer and the conduit connecting the pumps, said fluid motor havinga shaft, an indicator carried by the shaft to indicate the speedrelationship between the said rolls.

2. The combination of a high speed paper coater including an applicatorroll and a backing roll, of means for indicating the speed relationshipbetween said rolls, said means comprising a fluid pump driven by eachroll, a container for fluid, said container and pumps connected in aseries so that fluid from the container can flow through the pumps andback to the container, a fluid motor connecting the fluid container andthe conduit extending between the pumps, a fluid motor having a casingmounted in fluid motor conduit, said fluid motor having a shaft, anindicator carried by the shaft, said fluid motor provided with a rotorhaving spring pressed segments mounted therein, said rotor iseccentrically mounted with respect to the fluid motor casing.

3. The combination of a paper coating device including the coatingapplying roll and a paper supporting roll, of means for indicating thespeed relationship between the two said rolls, said means comprising apump driven by each of said rolls, a fluid container, conduits ofsubstantially equal size and length connecting the pumps to thecontainer, a third conduit connecting the pumps, a fourth conduitconnecting the fluid container and the third conduit, a fluid motorhaving a shaft mounted in the said fourth conduit, an indicator forshowing speed relationship between the said rolls carried by the fluidmotor shaft.

4. A combination with a film applying apparatus including the filmapplying roll and a web supporting roll, of means for indicating thespeed relationship between the two .rolls, said means comprising of afluid pump driven by each roll, .a fluid container, conduits forconnecting the container to each pump, said conduits of substantiallythe same resistance to the flow of fluid therethrough, a conduitconnecting the two pumps, a fluid motor conduit connecting the containerand the conduit connecting the two pumps, a fluid motor having a shaftmounted in the fluid motor conduit, and an indicator carried by themotor shaft for indicating the speed relationship.

5. The combination of a high speed paper coater including an applicatorroll and a paper supporting roll, of means for indicating the speedrelationship between the said rolls, said means comprising a pumpconnected to each roll, a fluid container, conduits of substantiallyequal size and length connecting the container and the pumps, 21 thirdconduit connecting the pumps, a fourth conduit connecting the thirdconduit to the fluid container, a fluid motor having a shaft mounted insaid fourth conduit, and an indicator carried by said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,545,638 Clay July 14, 1925 1,785,370 Thomas Dec. 16, 1930 1,970,368Fishburn Aug. 14, 1934 2,080,575 Perry May 18, 1937 2,248,504 Kenny July'8, 1941 2,280,203 Toulmin Apr. 21, 1942 2,419,070 Grunke'et a1 Apr.'15, 1947

